


Connections

by Tarlan



Category: Haven - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Community: hc_bingo, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magic, Romance, Witchcraft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2015-08-10
Packaged: 2018-04-05 04:13:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4165386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When William falls, he takes Nathan with him, beginning a journey that reveals the connections between them and the Troubles in Haven.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Connections

**Author's Note:**

  * For [roseveare](https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseveare/gifts).



> Goes AU after Season 4 finale, 'To The Lighthouse'.
> 
>  **roseveare asked:** What if they ( _Nathan and William_ ), too, are linked somehow by Haven's history and time?
> 
> Also meets: **hc_bingo** prompt: Grief

Nathan rubbed his aching jaw, almost marveling at the pain that had not yet receded. He'd almost forgotten what it was like to feel pain having felt only pleasure at Audrey's touch in recent years. It should have occurred to him that if William was like Audrey, immune to the Troubles, then his touch could be as electrifying as hers, splintering the numbness that Nathan had lived with for so long.

He was almost sorry when the pain disappeared as he had felt more than just the flares from William's fist. He had felt the warm sun and the cool breeze on his skin at the same time, something that even Audrey's touch had never given him. It was as if William's touch - no matter how brief -had connected him to the world again, lifting his Trouble if just for a moment. It brought back memories of his childhood, when he could feel every scrape of his knees and elbows as he played with his friends out in the woods or on the rocky shoreline, before the Troubles returned.

Anger flared momentarily, and not just because William had taken advantage of him, knowing he could not strike back, at least not without hurting Audrey too. William had given him this Trouble indirectly through his father's line, and it seemed an even greater insult that he was one of only two people who could lift it temporarily with his touch, or permanently if the evil bastard could ever be trusted.

He climbed into his car and slumped over the wheel, thoughts spinning out of control as anger turned to remorse before twisting in on itself again. He was a confused mess of emotions, still reeling from those months when he believed Audrey lost to him forever, and now all those emotions were caught in a backlash of sensory overload from both Audrey's and now William's touch.

He had craved Audrey's touch from the first time she inadvertently reached out and he had felt her fingers on his skin. He had wrapped his world around her, drawn to her much like a thirsty man desperate for a drop of water in a desert. He loved her beyond life itself - or so he believed - but now Nathan wondered how much of his love for Audrey was a crazy form of Stockholm Syndrome. Did he truly love her, or was he simply in love with how her touch stripped away the numbness and made him feel real?

William's touch had shook him to the core of his being, making him question everything he thought he knew about himself, and about Audrey. It made him question all his interactions with William in a new light. From the start he had seen him as more than just a threat to the town but to him personally as a rival for Audrey. It was only now that he realized a part of him was terrified William would take Audrey away and leave him lost in the numbness of his Troubled affliction forever.

William and Audrey were connected physically, and he'd seen ample proof of that when he shot William without warning and with little provocation; an unarmed man. All his police training and his own moral code had fallen aside purely because he had not wanted Audrey to hear what William was going to say. He had not wanted her to know more about her past, more about this other world where her original self and William had been partners in crime - and possibly lovers if William was to be believed. Nathan hadn't wanted her to remember anything of her past because if she wasn't his Audrey then she became William's Mara.

He hadn't wanted to lose her. Or perhaps he simply hadn't wanted to lose the heady sensation of feeling another's touch.

Back at the Harker place, he had watched as Audrey gave the Crocker curse back to Duke. He knew in his heart Duke was right about what he'd seen and felt when Audrey laid that Aether-blackened hand on his chest, and finally acknowledged how he felt about it. He felt impotent, knowing he could only stand by and watch as William slowly chipped away at the shell of Audrey Parker as the bastard sought the woman he had loved and lost.

Now he was on Haven's Look Out field, kneeling on the grass as he watched William's henchmen dissolve into Aether and settle back into a box that had appeared in William's hand from thin air. Earlier he had winced when Audrey met William, seeing the crackle of energy between the two and now, for one terrible moment as he watched her approach, he truly thought he had lost her altogether. She knelt before him and it took a moment for him to understand what he had to do to incapacitate William.

The crack of his forehead against hers hurt him almost as much as it hurt Audrey, but even as he reeled back from the sudden blow he could see William's head snap back, eyes rolling in his head as his knees gave way. William dropped to the ground, unconscious like Audrey.

Long ago Nathan had learned how to free himself from a set of handcuffs and he quickly snapped them onto William, shuddering as his fingers brushed against William's warm skin. He leaned in closer to the unconscious man, and even William's soft breath tingled across his suddenly sensitive face, filling him with a desire to lean in closer still, to press his lips against William's, to see if... 

He shuddered with inner revulsion but couldn't resist the need to feel something, moving that fraction closer to seal his lips upon William's.

The sensation ignited nerve endings throughout his body, leaving him desperate to stay in this unreciprocated kiss forever, but the slightest movement of William's lips beneath his brought Nathan to his senses. He scrabbled back and took a moment to regain his composure before pushing to his feet. Steeling himself, Nathan reached down and grabbed hold of William, dragging his unconscious body up into a fireman's carry. As he half-walked, half-stumbled back towards his car with the heavy weight hanging over his shoulder, Nathan could feel where every inch of William's body pressed against his, even through layers of clothing. he could feel the breeze caressing his sun-warmed skin. He dropped William into the back of the SUV, slamming the lid shut before he could give in to the desire to crawl in after him and wrap himself around William's body.

Audrey was exactly where he left her, still unconscious, and as he carried her carefully back to the SUV, he couldn't resist comparing the two - William and Audrey - and finding her touch so much less than William's. Still amazing, still... there, but only where skin touched skin.

Nathan knew it had to do with the Aether - the black globules that turned William's crazy thoughts into Troubles when inflicted on 'lesser beings'. William wielded the Aether with ease, powerful and assured, whereas Audrey was like a newborn with a dangerous toy. Yet Nathan had sensed the changes in her following each confrontation with William, following each touch. He knew she was remembering William, and he sensed the growing darkness within her just as Duke had warned.

Fortunately, both William and Audrey stirred moments after reaching the lighthouse so Nathan didn't have to carry them. Instead, he shoved William before him, down through the previously invisible hatch into the underground cavern where the Guard symbol was carved into the bedrock. For someone about to be cast back into the other world, William seemed strangely confident and at ease, as if he truly didn't believe it could happen. He kept talking to Audrey as if expecting to see some change in her back to the woman he had professed to love - if someone like William was truly capable of such an emotion - but she was still Nathan's Audrey, not William's Mara, and Nathan knew the perfect way to wipe that arrogant smirk off William's face.

He heard Audrey's soft cry of surprise when his knee connected with William's groin, taking some pleasure from seeing his rival bent over double in pain. As an added pleasure, he reveled in the flare of sensation in his fingers from gripping William's arms, and from his knee where it had struck William's body.

When the door to the other world opened, William showed the first signs of panic, of fear. His blue eyes widening in desperation, looking from one person to another as he sought some leverage that would keep him in this world. Nathan moved forward, eager to be rid of his rival, of this troubling presence that had turned everything in Nathan's life on its head. He wanted William gone before he was drawn as much to William as to Audrey, perhaps more so, or lost both of them to each other.

William spoke to Duke, calling him a dead man and promising to save him. He warned of a darkness, of how opening the door had let in a greater evil that he could help them fight. As Nathan dragged him towards the open door, William started begging to Audrey, telling her she was making a grave mistake, committing a crime more heinous than giving a death-filled cry to a baby... and Audrey ordered Nathan to stop.

Shocked, he did as she said, taking a few steps back as Audrey moved towards William, and enjoying the way William's expression turned from victorious to dismayed.

Nathan stepped closer as Audrey shoved William into the mists visible through the open doorway. He saw the crackle of energy between them and saw Audrey freeze, her grip tightening on William instead of allowing him to fall away, but it was not just William's weight and momentum that had her stumbling forward. something had gripped hold of William, and Nathan knew he had to break William's hold before Audrey fell too. He pushed her backwards, releasing her tight grip on William, only for William to snatch desperately at his shirt sleeves instead, his fingers catching momentarily before falling away with a cry.

Already overbalanced from saving Audrey, Nathan fell too.

****

Nathan awoke to deathly silence, lying on the mud and rotting leaves beneath a leafy canopy in a woods similar to the ones that bordered Haven. He froze for a moment as he could feel everything, right down to a thick branch pushing uncomfortably against his spine. A soft groan had him moving his head to find William sprawled out beside him.

William froze an indrawn breath, eyes wide open.

"No. No-no-no."

He pushed up to seated, blue eyes scanning the woods surrounding them, wild and frightened. Eventually his eyes caught Nathan's and he froze again for one long moment in confusion before the crack of something heavy snapping wood sounded just a little way off. William drew in another breath sharply as he looked in that direction.

"Run," he stated softly, shoving up to his feet and racing off.

Confused, Nathan stared after him until another loud crack sounded closer still. Whatever it was, it had frightened William badly, but that didn't mean it was a danger to him. A roar echoed from the direction of the cracking sound.

On the other hand, Nathan thought, and he ran in the same direction William had taken. His longer legs soon closed the distance between him and the slightly shorter man, which was fortunate as William chose that moment to change direction, veering off to the left. If Nathan had not already had him in sight then he might have lost him altogether. Instead he cut straight across, startling William when he appeared from the undergrowth suddenly right beside him.

William was still wild-eyed with panic, looking everywhere.

"There!" he shouted and raced off again, and this time Nathan followed close on his heels.

They came to a rock face, smooth and weathered with age but with strange markings carved into its surface. Instead of slowing, William headed straight for it, and disappeared. Nathan stopped. He reached out, expecting to feel rock beneath his now sensitive fingertips but instead he felt nothing. Not quite the numbness that had triggered in adolescence but...

A hand appeared from inside the rock, grabbed hold of Nathan's shirt front, and dragged him through the rock into... a meadow.

Nathan blinked, startled by this transition from dense woodland to an open meadow strewn with wild flowers. The sun was almost directly overhead and a light breeze rippled the long grass, caressing his skin. William slumped to the ground with his back against a large tree stump that looked out of place in the middle of the meadow. It was blackened on one side as if struck by lightning, and it had symbols carved into its surface, similar to the one in the other place.

"What was-? How did we-?"

"It's called a thinny. It's a... doorway of sorts."

"To where? Are we back in Haven?"

"Really?" William was looking at him in disbelief mingled with disdain. "You think it'd be that easy to get back?" His face hardened. "It took me three hundred and fifty years to find the barn."

"Yeah, and you don't look a day over three hundred and fifty-one," Nathan replied nastily.

William smirked. "After all you've seen, and you still can't believe what's right in front of your eyes."

Nathan lunged forward and grabbed William by his shirt, dragging him to his feet and up close with menace, faces scant inches apart.

"All I see in front of me is a monster."

William shoved Nathan back hard, smile crooked and disdainful as he smoothed down his shirt. "You can thank me later for saving you."

Nathan snorted in disbelief. "Saving me from what?"

William glanced back uneasily at the rotted stump with its strange carvings. "You don't want to know," he replied softly. Without another word he turned and walked away, heading into the long wild grass that swayed in the gentle breeze. "Follow. Don't follow. Your choice, Nathan."

Gritting his teeth, Nathan kicked the ground by the stump, grumbling under his breath as he followed William because he really didn't have much of a choice, not until he understood where the hell he was and how to get back to Haven. _And to Audrey_ , his inner voice added viciously, because he'd momentarily forgotten all about her.

He held his arms out as he walked, letting his fingertips and palms enjoy the tickling sensation of the long grass. Being able to touch and to feel again was amazing, and if not for William's presence - and all it entailed - the tingling of his nerve endings might easily have overwhelmed him. He felt young again, and so alive.

"Why aren't I troubled here?"

William cast a glance over his shoulder, and shrugged, but Nathan has his own theory. William had told Audrey they were both punished for what they had done in Haven. Audrey was condemned to right the wrongs of those she and William had Troubled, sent back to Haven with no memory of her original self to find ways to undo her terrible work, while William was banished. It spoke of inequality for why not send both of them back to Haven? Why force some kind of redemption on one but not on the other? Was William so evil that he was beyond redemption? Certainly he had held no regard for the lives of the people in Haven, seeing them as little more than playthings to abuse and discard at will or for his personal entertainment.

He'd had no conscience when it came to triggering the Harker family curse in a baby, killing all those who 'heard' the baby's cry, including the boy's mother.

Perhaps his soul was as black as the Aether he wielded, and yet there had to be some spark of goodness within him for him to love Mara with such ferocity, willing to spend centuries trying to find his way back to her.

William broke into his thoughts, his voice low and tense. 

"We need to find shelter before nightfall."

"Why?"

William stopped and looked at him. "Because they mostly come at night."

"They?"

"You don't want to know," he stated again but this time Nathan grabbed his arm, spinning him back around.

"Yes I do. I want to know what's coming after us." He paused in thought, giving William a speculative look. "Or are they just after you?" he asked, wondering if this was William's punishment, like the Furies that had harassed some Greek guy in ancient myths, tearing out his eyes each day and allowing him no rest or comfort. Not that Nathan could believe any answer William gave because the man could not be trusted.

William looked away, and Nathan narrowed his eyes because the arrogance was missing. Nathan smiled nastily.

"You don't have any power here."

His words must have hit the mark as he saw a flicker of fear in those blue eyes despite the raised chin and arrogant smile. William raised both eyebrows nonchalantly.

"You want to put that to the test?" he taunted, holding up one hand to reveal one of the black globules between his thumb and index finger.

"Yes," Nathan stated, standing taller to use his height against the other man as he called William's bluff. "Do your worst."

The almost imperceptible clench and release of William's jaw was all the confirmation Nathan needed. In this world, wherever they were, William was as human and mortal as Nathan. Only William's centuries of experience in this other world gave him any advantage over Nathan, but once he had used that up, Nathan would have no need for him. William likely knew this, but Nathan suspected William needed him just as much in return or he would have abandoned him earlier. He wasn't sure why. It was just a cop's intuition but he'd learned to rely on his gut feelings, especially over the past few years since Audrey Parker breezed into town.

Nathan indicated for William to lead on, enjoying his small victory over the other man as the Aether vanished back into William's pocket.

They walked at a brisk pace for over an hour, entering a lightly wooded area and walking quietly beneath the trees before William stopped.

"This will do," he murmured, speaking for the first time since the meadow. He had stopped by the remains of a massive downed tree. Part of the trunk had hollowed out over time, and a jagged hole along one side was large enough for a man to crawl inside.

William began gathering dry twigs as if following a routine performed many times before, which Nathan knew might be the case if he had been stuck here for over three hundred years. After a moment he decided to help, making a small fire pit close to the opening of the hollowed trunk. Contrary to Nathan's belief earlier, William whispered something once the kindling was all in place and a small flame flickered into life deep within the dried wood, catching quickly. By now the sun had lowered enough to cast long shadows and Nathan figured they had but another half an hour before it was fully dark. While William laid down a bed of dry leaves inside the trunk, Nathan spent the remaining light gathering more wood and stacking it close to the fire before settling down with his back to the large trunk.

He watched as William sat down just a few feet away on the other side of the jagged hole, with knees drawn up to his chest. The blond coloring in his short hair caught and reflected back the orange and yellow of the flickering flames, and threw his tired face into menacing, dancing shadows. He heard William's stomach protest its emptiness, and though it amused him to see William so human, Nathan was equally hungry.

He recalled putting a candy bar in his pocket earlier that day and he drew it out now, unwrapping it and taking a big bite, enjoying the way William watched him hungrily in silence. With one last bite left Nathan almost wolfed it down just to spite William but relented, throwing the bar across to him. He watched in amusement as William shoved it in fast, even licking at the wrapper before throwing it onto the small fire. He didn't thank Nathan, but Nathan hadn't expected any thanks. He wasn't even sure why he'd taken pity on William but justified it to himself that he needed William - for now.

Tomorrow they would have to find something more substantial to eat.

****

With the darkness came menacing snarls and distant howls. Several times something moved in the deeper shadows beneath the trees ahead of them, with large yellow eyes reflecting back light from the fire. The shadows concealed its shape but Nathan knew it was big. Fortunately, it seemed reluctant to come out into the light, but as the temperature dropped, the howls increased all around them, and William inched closer to Nathan.

"We should take it in turns to sleep," Nathan whispered, aware they would have to trust each other for now no matter how much he hated the idea.

William nodded, crawling inside the tree trunk onto the pile of leaves. He was fast asleep in minutes, just a huddled shape barely visible except for the firelight reflecting off his hair.

Howls and snarls traveled in the stillness of the night, and in the distance Nathan fancied he heard the death struggle of some poor creature caught in snapping jaws. He wished he'd thought of setting up some basic snares in case they caught something they could cook and eat tomorrow but it was too late now. The moon had risen, just a sliver with most of the disk in darkness, but it still added its pale glow to the woodlands. It was no different to the moon seen above Haven just the night before, edging towards the start of the lunar cycle. If this was still the case then there would be a new moon tomorrow. 

Duke and Jennifer had wondered if this 'other world' was on an alien planet but all the trees he and William had walked beneath today were species Nathan knew well from the woodlands around Haven, and what he could see of the moon looked the same too. He figured it was more likely he was caught in some other physical plane intersecting with his own reality, like the ghost plane he'd been caught in temporarily.

Eventually half the night had passed and Nathan decided to kick William awake and make him stand watch. William grumbled, unhappily changing places with him, and as Nathan crawled into the hollowed out trunk he figured he'd got the better deal as the bed of leaves was warm from where William had slept.

When Nathan awoke it was dawn, with the first fingers of sunlight penetrating the trees and sending anything lurking close by deeper into the shadows. He had half expected to wake up and find William gone so he was almost surprised to see him kicking dirt over the remnants of the fire to put it out.

"We should get moving. The next thinny is a full day's journey from here."

"Wouldn't it be better to go back, in case they re-open the door?"

William laughed without amusement. "It never opens in the same place twice."

"Then how do we find the way back?"

"Well, the barn's gone so we'll just have to find another thinny that leads back to Haven... and there's only one other here." He pointed. "That way."

"How do you know?" Nathan demanded.

"Because I can sense them."

With nothing more to say, they walked on in silence. William set a fast but cautious pace only stopping when they came upon a stream, falling to his knees to scoop up palmfuls of water to drink. They hadn't found anything edible so when Nathan noticed a bush overhanging the stream, filled with ripe, purple berries that were attracting the local birds, he gathered a handful only to have them slapped away as he went to pop then into his mouth.

"That's Pokeweed."

"I know what Pokeweed is, and these are-."

"Poisonous." William rolled his eyes and sighed. "We'll stop early and I'll snare something... small... but not here. We can't stay here."

Something small turned out to be a no larger than a squirrel, and not any kind of critter Nathan had seen before, and he wasn't quite sure how William had snared it. He watched as William dug up some roots and tubers, hanging them over the fire to roast alongside the skinned and skewered critter. It was already dark and as Nathan had predicted, there was a new moon in the sky, shedding no light on the earth below. The meager meal was surprisingly tasty but barely took the edge off his hunger so he found himself seeking a distraction.

"Why?" he asked.

William looked up from where he was gazing into the flames, probably dwelling on his own hunger. His eyebrows furrowed questioningly, but then the familiar arrogant smile graced his lips because there really was only one question Nathan would ask of him.

"Because I could. Because I... Because _we_ liked it."

Him and Mara.

They fell silent after that and the night proceeded as the one before, with one taking watch while the other slept though this night the howls remained at a distance.

****

They reached the next thinny by mid-morning the next day and Nathan watched as William's hand hovered over the surface of an ancient tree with those same strange symbols carved into its gnarled trunk. He murmured something under his breath, his fair eyelashes flickering closed in concentration. The symbols glowed for a moment before William stepped forward, straight through the tree. After a moment's hesitation, Nathan followed, feet sinking into wet sand on a beach that stretched towards a distant headland. The tide was far out but the sea rolling onto the shore in the distance reflected the murky gray of an overcast sky. Looking out Nathan could see nothing across the water as far as the horizon.

William was striding off, leaving footprints starting from the large, water-weathered boulder sitting incongruously on the otherwise empty beach. Nathan could see from the algae coloring its lower surface, leaving a tide line near the top that it spent time partially submerged underwater. He decided to take it as a good omen that they hadn't come through at high tide.

His longer stride soon closed the distance to William and he fell in step just a few steps behind, keeping a watch on the slightly smaller man. From William's shiver Nathan could only presume it was colder here on the shore because, once more, he had no sense of feeling in his body.

"We need to get around the headland before the tide turns."

Nathan didn't bother to ask why because William had fallen into a foul mood after waking up that morning, casting dark looks at Nathan as if holding him personally accountable for his current predicament. It mirrored his own feelings towards William. If not for William and his malicious acts, Nathan would have awoken in a warm bed in Audrey's arms this morning rather than alone on the cold ground, damp with morning dew.

The headland was further away than it looked and they walked for over an hour before reaching the base. William was glancing nervously out towards the sea where Nathan could see the tide had turned. He saw William's shoulders set as he set off again, at an even faster pace. The ground at the foot of the headland was rocky, slowing their pace as they needed to tread carefully between some rocks and scale others. The tops were smoothed by water erosion and slippery from algae, but Nathan found to his cost that the sides were covered in razor-sharp barnacles. At least he couldn't feel it though.

He sucked on the blood welling from a slice to his palm before taking a handkerchief out of his pocket and wrapping it around the cut, binding it tight. When he glanced up William had stopped about ten feet ahead of him, worried blue eyes looking from the cut to Nathan's face before his expression smoothed and he turned away, continuing onwards.

By now the tide was coming in fast and they had barely made it halfway round the headland. William was moving faster, his attention mostly on the rocks ahead of him but occasionally he would glance towards the incoming tide or back at Nathan. If this was a race against the tide then Nathan knew they were not going to be on the winning side. Half hour later he noticed the first wave lap over his shoes, and there was still quite a distance to go. He had closed the gap between him and William but as he went to set his hand down on the top of the next rock for leverage he noticed the tiny trickle of blood over its surface. Looking carefully he spotted the redness of William's palms and saw blood droplets splatter as William pushed on relentlessly, ignoring his injuries.

The incoming water forced them closer to the base of the headland, slowing them further as the rocks were larger and harder to climb and navigate. William seemed to have an aversion to the water, casting longer, more nervous looks out across the sea as it crashed against the base of the rocks only a few feet from them now. The spray was making the rocks more slippery and Nathan cursed out loud as he slipped, his foot wedging between two rocks beneath the water.

When William looked back at him, Nathan could see him debating on whether to come back to help him - or leave him to drown. Cursing loudly, he turned back, the sea spray hitting his face as he leaned down between the rocks, grasping at Nathan's ankle and shoe.

"It's wedged too tight," he snarled, standing upright and pulling a slim knife from his pocket.

He leaned down again and began cutting through the laces. Nathan's foot slipped out of the shoe suddenly, pulling him off balance. His flailing arm hit William and sent him crashing down, a wave breaking over him. Nathan grabbed for William and hauled him upright, holding him as he hoarsely coughed up the water he'd inadvertently swallowed.

"We have... to move," he gasped between coughs.

"My shoe-."

"Leave it! We have to go now," he interrupted sharply.

As they had only twenty feet left to traverse, Nathan couldn't understand William's rush until something white and gelatinous broke the surface of the water barely ten feet away. White tendrils like stingers on a giant jellyfish ebbed and flowed with the tide, moving ever closer. Whatever it was, William seemed anxious to get away from it. The sharp barnacles caught at Nathan's shoe-less foot but Nathan felt nothing, but the tendrils seemed to move towards the small plume of blood in the water. Ten feet to go. Five feet. Nathan climbed over the last few rocks only to find the water had surged around the headland, leaving them still twenty feet from dry land, and with no means to get there except by swimming.

"I can't," William stated, staring at the expanse of water leading to the shore.

"You can't swim?"

"Of course I can swim," he retorted. "But not here. Not in there." His voice held a tinge of fear.

They were both standing on the last of the rocks above water level, though not for much longer as the tide was still coming in.

"You don't have a choice. These rocks will be underwater soon."

The white tendrils drifted in towards them again and William shrank back. A slightly larger wave brought it surging towards them and William screamed out in agony as it seemed to flow around Nathan to latch onto William's lower leg, sliding beneath the material to his bare skin. Nathan pulled William towards him, forcefully shoving him into the water on the other side of the rock from the creature. The water was barely waist high and likely bitterly cold, momentarily taking the breath from William as Nathan jumped in after him and dragged him back to his feet. He half dragged, half carried William towards the shore as the white tendrils closed in on them once more, covering the surface of the water behind them.

Nathan didn't stop moving until they were twenty more feet up the beach on dry land, and well above the line of dried seaweed left behind by the previous tide. By now William was shaking, face ashen, and blue eyes wide in shock. Dropping to his knees in front of him, Nathan shoved up the pant leg and hissed at the deep welts covering William's lower leg.

"Seawater," he murmured and ran back to the sea, filling a forensics collection bag he'd found stuffed in his pocket.

Nathan poured the salt water over the red and raw skin before taking out his credit card and scraping it over the surface to remove any remaining stingers. Deep welts criss-crossed William's pale skin and his face was lined with pain. He was shaking so badly Nathan figured they wouldn't be going any further today.

"I'll go set up a camp for tonight."

William remained silent but called out shakily as Nathan headed towards the scraggly shrubs lining the beach.

"Not on the beach."

Nathan found a good spot just beyond the beach in a natural dip in the land, offering shelter from the breeze that had started to pick up the lighter grains of sand. He gathered kindling for the fire, hating the need to stop periodically to check on William because the man didn't deserve any sympathy after all he had done in Haven. William hadn't moved at all. Instead, he remained seated on the sand, looking out across the water with his injured leg partially stretched out before him. When Nathan went back for him after setting up the makeshift camp, he noticed William had ripped away the leg of his pants from the knee down. It made sense because the tendrils with their stingers had touched the inside of the material.

Almost begrudgingly, Nathan offered him a hand up, but he left William to limp up the beach alone behind him.

"Why didn't it go for me?" Nathan asked a little later, because it had seemed to deliberately target William.

William looked away, refusing to answer, which made Nathan suspect the reason why William was so fearful was because everything was after him - and him alone. The thought crossed his mind to leave William to his monsters, but he needed William to help him find the thinnies and possibly show him how to open each portal to the next part of this 'other world'. He needed William to help him find his way back to Haven.

William remained silent, finally curling up and falling asleep.

Eventually the stars came out as darkness fell, and with a start Nathan realized he had not thought of Audrey at all that day, until now. The dismay of not being able to feel again had long worn off, overshadowed by concern his lacerated palm and foot. He had cleaned both as best he could and now wondered how he was going to walk with just one shoe without causing more injuries, even if he couldn't feel the pain.

Nathan wasn't aware of falling asleep until he felt someone shaking him, and he opened his eyes to find William bright eyed and smirking down at him.

Glancing down, the skin of William's lower leg was now blemish free. The ugly welts and tears of skin had vanished overnight, reminding Nathan that William had the ability to heal himself. Nathan wished he could say the same as his palm looked tender to the touch and would likely get infected if not treated. He cursed slightly as he pulled away the handkerchief that had stuck to the wound. William grabbed his hand at the wrist, glaring when Nathan's reaction was to try to snatch his hand away as all the unaccustomed pain came back at William's touch.

William murmured something under his breath, mumbled words that rose and fell like an incantation. Then he spat into Nathan's palm. This time Nathan did pull his hand away though William's other hand remained on his shoulder.

"What the hell-?" 

He made to rub the saliva off only to notice the pain was receding. Nathan watched in fascination as the jagged cut slowly closed until only a pink line remained.

"I can take care of the foot too."

Nathan nodded but this time William spat into his own hand before rubbing the saliva over the numerous cuts from the sharp barnacles. Once more the pain receded and the wounds closed. When he moved back, Nathan mourned the loss of feeling.

"Here."

William threw a shoe at him, and Nathan looked at it in surprise because it was the shoe he'd lost earlier.

"You went back for it?"

William didn't answer, kicking out the remnants of the small fire. "The next thinny is that way," he pointed, heading out slowly without waiting for Nathan.

Nathan pulled on his shoe and stood up, glancing back towards the headland only to see the water still covering the rocks at its base. More disturbingly, there was barely a ripple. No waves crept up the beach or lapped against the rise of the headland, remaining unnaturally still as if frozen in place like a photograph. It was unnatural.

****

Nathan lost count of the days after a while as each thinny brought them to another world in a different time zone. Sometimes he regained his sense of touch and in other worlds his whole body felt numb again. He didn't have any beard growth to help him measure the passing days, which was weird but not unwelcome. Twice they'd been forced to make a run for it, barely staying ahead of something hunting them - or rather, hunting William. 

At night they'd make a fire and huddle around it, but that night their luck ran out when something large and black leaped out from the shadows. Nathan caught the flash of sharp teeth and William's scream as it bowled him over, teeth sinking into his shoulder.

Nathan snatched up a burning branch from the fire, yelling at the creature. He drove it away too easily, as if it had got what it had come for and saw no reason to continue on with the attack. Once he was sure it had gone, he dropped down next to William. Blood was pouring from the wound where torn flesh hung in tatters and Nathan did his best to staunch the flow, tearing off his jacket and pressing it against the terrible injury. For the rest of the night there was not much else he could do except watch William sleep, face so pale that for a worrying moment Nathan thought he was dead. He leaned over the man and sighed in relief when he felt the soft breath against his skin, taking a moment to wonder at how innocent the evil bastard looked while sleeping.

The injury was gone by morning and Nathan might have believed it had never existed except for the haunted, fearful shadow in William's eyes.

That evening, as they huddled close to the fire, Nathan looked across at his unwilling companion and asked his question again.

"Why didn't it go for me?" William looked away but Nathan wanted answers this time. "Tell me, or so help me I'll leave you to face the next one alone."

"Fine. They're attracted to... my kind." He sneered. "Not to you... lesser beings."

Nathan smiled back. "This is your punishment. Banished to where the monsters want a piece of you."

The tic of his jaw proved Nathan was right, though Nathan wondered how William had stayed sane after more than three hundred years lost in this world of horrors - or as sane as any high-functioning sociopath could stay in a place like this.

"So, what are you? Aliens?"

William laughed harshly. "Aliens? That world is as much ours as yours, but your people wouldn't let us live there in peace. Hounding us from one land to the next," he snarled. "Following us across the ocean to our haven, and condemning us out of your own prejudices and narrow-minded pettiness. Torturing us. Burning us." William sat up taller, eyes blazing. "Do you really want to know why I gave your ancestors the Troubles?"

Nathan remained silent, wanting to hear what William slipped up and said in anger.

"I was fifteen years old when Thomas Harker shed his fake tears over the body of his dead wife. Everyone knew he wanted his wife gone so he could take up with the Miller's daughter, but he told the Witchfinder's man that my mother had troubled Lady Harker with the black arts. They took her away. They tortured her day and night until she broke, giving up the names of others of our kind... and then they burned her at the stake." He snarled, but then stopped to look at Nathan more closely. "Only the week before she'd saved Ellyn Hansen in childbirth, and yet the father, Ezekiel, was the one who tied my mother to that stake and then stood with the crowds and watched her burn as if she was nothing to him."

His eyes flashed with hatred.

"The others of your kind treated her trial and execution like a party. Mayor Caldwell worried it might rain and put out the pyre too soon, spoil the show," he spat. "While McShaw and Goodnestone baked pies and cakes for everyone to enjoy... and McBreen played his damn fiddle. They danced..." His voice was cracked, choked with emotion. "My father..." He faltered. "Estbury shot my father dead when he tried to free my mother from the burning pyre, while Angus McKee held me back, daring to wrap his arms around me and blame my mother for bewitching my father." He smiled maliciously. "I made sure no McKee could ever freely touch anyone again."

Nathan knew from Jordan that the McKee family curse was to cause excruciating pain with their touch. He knew Jeanine Goodnestone too. Her Trouble made any food she touched turn to cake while Bill McShaw's family spoiled food when they were stressed, causing many a death from food poisoning until they were banned from touching any other food than their own. No McBreen could ever play a musical instrument as their music drove others insane, as he and Audrey had discovered in that first year as partners. Estbury was Dwight's grandmother's name before she married a Hendrickson, and Nathan's real father was Max Hansen, a descendant of Ezekiel Hansen, an unfeeling bastard according to William.

"Yeah," William drawled with a malicious smile, settling back comfortably as he saw his words dawn on Nathan. "I gave them all what they deserved... and I enjoyed it."

Nathan recalled stories handed down from generation to generation of the witch hunts back in the mid-1600s. He could recall only one name from the dozens of those tortured then burned or drowned as witches, the name that started it all: Jayne 'Goodwife' Thorne. Was William her son?

"William Thorne," Nathan stated softly, trying out the name, and he saw William straighten, eyes widening in surprise. "Is that your name?" William sat back again, smiling, so Nathan pushed on while his nemesis was amenable to answering questions. "Tell me about Mara. Where did she come into all this?"

"Mara." William's smile grew soft, and Nathan knew he was picturing Audrey-Mara. "Her mother was our leader. Charlotte. She opened the portal so our people could escape before we were all condemned to the stake, but Mara found another hidden doorway back to Haven. The first thinny, and we had...." He smiled brightly, eyes closing momentarily in remembrance. "Such fun creating Troubles to make them _all pay_." He shrugged. "She's the one who showed me how to use the Aether on Harker, Hansen and McKee, and suggested we play a different game. I'd make a Trouble and Mara would make a complementary one. And she had such a deliciously, inventive mind."

William fell silent but Nathan was no longer inclined to talk anyway. The Troubles had started manifesting back in the summer of 1665, according to some of the town's records, and one local historian had a crazy idea implicating the Witch Trials as the cause even though they'd taken place almost fifteen years earlier. It seemed their crazy theory had been right after all, yet knowing the truth didn't make Nathan like William any better, but at least it put things into perspective.

William had aged barely ten years since 1665 so either his people were long-lived, or this other world moved at a different time frame to his Haven. It occurred to him that Mara would have been no more than six years old at the time of the witch trials. An impressionable age to see familiar faces, perhaps even family, dragged away and publicly executed in such a horrific manner. It was no wonder these two mentally scarred children had grown up to start the Troubles.

The cycle of the Troubles was every twenty-seven years - until Nathan disrupted it by killing Agent Howard. Thirteen cycles was 351 years, perhaps equating to thirteen actual years of punishment for William and Mara. It occurred to him that if it was this place moving at a different pace to Haven rather than William's people having a longer life span, and if one year here equated to twenty-seven years in Haven, then he'd already been gone from Haven for over a year.

Were the others even still looking for him? Or had they given up, just as he had given up on Audrey after she went into the barn.

With all these thoughts weighing him down, Nathan didn't think he would find sleep easily that night but instead he fell quickly, waking up to another new day - and another month lost from Haven. William was already up and setting up another meager breakfast of edible berries and leftovers from yesterday's meal.

There was something a little different about him today, as if his angry outburst from last night had lifted a weight from his shoulders. Or perhaps he had simply enjoyed sharing his tragic story with someone uniquely affected by it. Not that Nathan felt any undue sympathy for him. Some understanding, maybe, but not sympathy.

After all the deaths and suffering he had caused, William had deserved a far worse punishment than wandering around in this other world at the mercy of monsters that wanted to take their piece of flesh out of him. Nathan still didn't understand why his punishment was banishment whereas Mara had been mind-wiped and sent back to undo hers and William's work, cycle after cycle. Or why those punishing them both could not have simply taken away the Troubles and banished both William and Mara.

As they walked through thick woodland, Nathan couldn't resist asking, and once more he thought William would simply ignore the question, surprised when he seemed quite chatty.

"They see the Aether as a gift, even when it appears to others as a curse." He smiled, snapping a twig from a tree as he passed and playing with it between his fingers. "My mother gave the gift of wood carving to my father using the Aether. He didn't see a piece of wood. He saw something of beauty simply waiting to be created; an ornate dresser, a child's spinning top... and sometimes something mundane like a barn door."

Nathan snorted. "And what's so good about a curse that makes everything you touch turn to cake?"

William shrugged. "Everybody likes cake."

"If you have the power to give Troubles, then you must have the power to take them all away."

William gave him a sideways glance. "I could lie and say yes."

"So you can't fix what you-."

"I didn't say I couldn't fix Troubles, only that I couldn't take them all away"

"So... could you fix me?"

William smiled and walked off a little faster without answering.

An hour later they came to a fast flowing river, about twenty feet across, with no visible means of getting to other side unless they were prepared to get wet. They moved upstream until Nathan spotted where two large trees stood on opposite sides of the bank, with branches hanging low, meeting at the center of the river. Unfortunately, they were not quite low enough for a man to hold onto and use to pull himself across but he pointed it out to William nonetheless.

"The thinny's on the other side," was all William said, pointing to a crooked old tree.

Nathan couldn't make out any magical runes on it from this distance but he knew William had no reason to lie. He frowned as William stared hard at the trees, lips moving in silent incantation, then marveled as the branches began to grow, dipping lower across the breadth of the river.

"I'll go first," Nathan stated, and he slid into the water.

He worked hand-over-hand, pulling himself across the river using the low branches to stop him from being swept away. Once he reached the center of the river, he grabbed onto the branches for the other tree, looking back to William and nodding. William grimaced as he lowered himself into the water but quickly grabbed hold of the first branch, shivering visibly at the cold. The river was likely a glacial run-off from the distant, snow-capped mountains, making Nathan glad this was a realm where he could not feel anything.

Nathan was three quarters of the way across when he heard a sharp cry of pain. Looking back he saw something silver flash out of the water, striking at William before disappearing up stream. Another silver shape leaped out moments later, sharp teeth catching at William's forearm. Blood welled from the bite mark, flowing down his arm as more silver shapes broke the surface in the distance, heading fast towards him. Nathan turned, dragging himself back towards William at a careless pace, and almost paying for it when a branch snapped in his hand. By now William was in a panic, desperately holding onto the low branches as the silver fish-like creatures leaped from the water to smack against him, taking more chunks out of his straining arms and unprotected back. Nathan reached him just as William lost his hold on the branches, feet slipping away under him. Grabbing for him took Nathan off balance too, but he held on tight as they were propelled down the river by the strong current, trying to protect William and keep both their heads above water. He saw slower water near the bank, protected by a fallen tree and aimed for it, somehow keeping a hold of William and bringing them both to shore. Exhausted from his fight with the river, Nathan could pull them only partially out of the water, but the attacking silver fish had William still flooded with adrenaline. He clambered out of the water and dragged Nathan fully onto the bank before collapsing next to him.

When Nathan opened his eyes, most of the day had passed with twilight approaching, and William was asleep or unconscious, curled up beside him. He had no idea how far the river had carried them, and as neither of them knew what would be on the other side of the thinny Nathan made the decision to set up camp. He managed to get a small fire started quickly, grateful to find plenty of dry wood and leaves close at hand. Stripping off his wet clothes, he hung them over the bushes where the heat from the fire would help dry them out before morning. William was equally soaked but he didn't stir when Nathan stripped him out of his wet clothing too, hanging it alongside his own. After making sure there was plenty of wood close by to keep the fire going all night, Nathan curled up behind William to share body heat, able to feel the cold once he was touching William.

Exhausted from the day's events, he slept.

****

When Nathan awoke, William was still asleep curled up inside his arms, chest-to-chest, with his head pillowed on Nathan's shoulder. He was a warm, heavy weight, and his breathing was soft rather than labored like the night before. Once again Nathan noticed how sleep smoothed away the lines of pain and worry from his face, making him look young and far too innocent. His hand was on Nathan's chest, fingers splayed in the familiar shape but he held no Aether to leave behind a Troubled hand-print.

Once more he had healed overnight so the bite marks were gone leaving the dried blood on his arms looking like it belonged to someone else. Nathan considered getting up but he felt warm and comfortable beneath William's weight, enjoying the touch of another's skin pressed against his own. Perhaps it was a little selfish but he figured he deserved a small respite. William too.

As he waited for William to wake up on his own, Nathan pondered over all the facts presenting themselves since the start of this journey through the Other Worlds. There was a pattern to the attacks: magic, or rather William's use of it. The greater the feat of magic, the greater the danger presenting itself to William.

Moving through thinnies brought danger towards them on both sides - the dark creature on that first night, the turning tide of the ocean bringing the jellyfish ashore, and now the silver fish after William used magic to lower the tree branches. The nights without howls and snarls were those when Nathan built the fire and cooked a meal without any magic coming into play. He looked across at his shoes drying by the dying embers of the fire. On the day following the jellyfish attack they were pursued for miles by something malevolent until they moved through the next thinny. Nathan wondered if William had used magic to bring his shoe back from where it had been left behind, wedged between the rocks.

He felt the moment when William awoke by the subtle tensing of his body and the way he held his breath until releasing it gently in a soft puff that tingled over Nathan's skin. He expected William to move away immediately, whether nonchalantly or in a scrabble, it didn't matter. Instead William remained pressed against him, head still pillowed on his shoulder and hand still splayed over his chest. He noticed William was human enough to have a morning erection, feeling it pressed hard against his thigh from where their legs were slightly entangled.

The feel of Audrey's soft skin against him was just a distant memory now, as if from another lifetime, but William was right here, right now. Real to his touch, and Nathan wanted to feel everything again. Not just the breeze through his hair or the cool water on his skin. He wanted to feel the power of an orgasm rippling through his body, feel every inch of his skin on fire with lust, his blood burning with need. He had no idea if William would reject him if he asked so he pressed a kiss to the top of William's head, feeling the tingle of soft curls against his lips.

William pushed away slightly, eyes catching hold of his, questioning before the slight rise of his lips proved he had found the answer to his own unspoken question. He leaned down and kissed Nathan, tentative at first but then more forceful when Nathan opened to him. Nathan could feel the length of William's body settling on him, sighing into the shared kiss when strong fingers wrapped around his hard cock, firm and sure; not the hand of a novice or shy virgin. Nathan arched into his touch, dragging William down on top until their cocks were lined up side by side, bucking up against him as they moved together, taking each other higher until ragged breaths became hoarse triumphant cries as they spilled against each other.

William collapsed on top of him for a moment, taking a moment to control his breathing before rolling off, splayed out by Nathan's side.

It had been too quick, with his body overloading so fast that his head was still reeling from the sensations, but it had also been good. Better than good. Taking the hard edge off the frustration and anger filling him since William's arrival in Haven, since that first flare of sensation from William's fist connecting with his chin.

William spoke first.

"I should go wash up."

"There's a shallow spot just beyond that boulder, away from the main part of the river." _Where none of the silver fish can reach you_ , he added silently.

William nodded and Nathan held his breath as the man stood, unashamedly naked with his belly streaked with their mingled semen, before gathering up his dried clothes and heading to the far side of the boulder. When he returned he was fully dressed but he seemed a little quieter than usual, as if they were both aware that something had changed between them.

Once Nathan had cleaned up and pulled on his dry clothes, he returned to the small campsite to find William seated on a boulder further along, staring out across the river. Nathan sat down beside him, leaving a small gap between them even though he yearned to feel William's touch, saying nothing.

"We should stay here today," William murmured.

Although Nathan was convinced every day spent here could be weeks lost in Haven, he nodded his head in agreement. "Okay. But no magic today. Not even to light the fire."

William looked straight at him this time, eyes widened a little in surprise as if he hadn't expected Nathan to work it out. He nodded, smiling wryly and repeated Nathan's words.

"No magic today."

****

They spent that day washing their clothes, fishing, and generally relaxing, sharing sloppy kisses and enjoying lazy sex. The silver fish that had attacked William the day before turned out to be a tasty meal once Nathan snared a couple. Nathan left some of the leftover cooked meat to dry in the sun, figuring it could stave off some of their hunger tomorrow. The greasy oil coating his fingers also gained an additional recreational use, though Nathan was still surprised by William's easy surrender, allowing Nathan to fuck him. It felt good. Hot and tight, though it was clear William was no virgin in this activity either.

"I thought you'd be more... Puritan," Nathan stated softly, body relaxed from a day of rest and good sex.

He felt William's silent laugh from where he was sprawled over Nathan, his breaths soft huffs against Nathan's throat.

"Your people might have been prudish, but not mine."

An exploratory finger traced patterns over Nathan's chest before brushing across a nipple, sending a spark of pleasure through him but it was far too soon for Nathan to feel anything more no matter how much he desired it. William seemed deep in thought so Nathan waited, wondering if he would offer up those thoughts freely if not pressed for answers.

"You think my punishment was lenient. Banishment to this place... even if every creature does want to take a bite out of me."

William sighed, shifting to lean up onto one elbow so he could look down at Nathan. He studied Nathan closely for a long moment, eyes moving down his body all the way to his toes and then back up again as if looking at him clearly for the first time.

"We have more in common than you think, Nathan Hansen."

Nathan hadn't gone by that name for a very long time but William knew that so there had to be a reason for him emphasizing his birth name. When William reached out for him again his expression was closed off as he trailed his hand over Nathan's sensitive skin. He frowned at Nathan's reaction, his shiver of pleasure.

"Touch. Or rather the long years of its absence, years without human touch. Needing to feel that... spark of connection to another living creature."

William drew back his hand and studied Nathan again, this time focusing on his face rather than his body as if seeing him as a real person rather than just some lesser being. Or at least that was what he thought until William started speaking again.

"Some of... _us_ have survived years with only a lesser creature by their side. A cat, a dog... or one of your kind. A familiar." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. "But the power of touching another of _my_ kind?" His smile widened. "The crackle of energy flowing between us, around us... through us." He opened his eyes. "Sex has _always_ been the best way to channel that energy."

Still smiling, William fell silent, lost in memories of other times, other touches, leaving Nathan feeling angry at being dismissed as nothing more than a pet or plaything.

"Wasn't your father a familiar?" He mentioned, recalling William's story about his father. "Which makes you what exactly?" he added nastily, wiping the smile from William's face.

He left William quietly fuming on the other side of their makeshift camp but as the sun set and the first stars began to appear in the night sky, William drew closer. When a single finger trailed nonchalantly over Nathan's upper thigh, Nathan didn't shrug him off, allowing William to become bolder in his touches until they were wrapped around each other once more.

It was a weakness, but Nathan knew all too well what it was like to walk in a world bereft of touch. To not feel the warmth of another person against his skin... until Audrey's touch. William had walked these other worlds alone for those thirteen cycles, with every living creature here wanting to hurt him. All except him, and perhaps that was because he didn't belong here any more than William.

Yet if what William was saying about touch between his people was true then this was a cruel punishment, but as far as Nathan was concerned, he deserved far worse. William had brought this fate upon himself, but Nathan had never deserved his loss of touch; his Trouble. None of those suffering now, generations from the ones who had caused William's pain, deserved their Troubles.

He was aware of his own hypocrisy, in seeing Audrey in a different light to William when they were both guilty of the same crime. Would he have felt equally sympathetic towards William if he had been given the same punishment as Mara, sent back to Haven with the shell of another personality forcing this personality deep into the dark recesses of his own mind? It still begged the question for why Mara was given a chance to find redemption but not William, so he asked.

"Oh that's an easy one. Charlotte couldn't accept her beautiful daughter was a _psychopath_ , even though Mara was the one who put the Aether in my hand that day and showed me _exactly_ how I could get my revenge."

Nathan wanted to call William a liar or at least accuse him of exaggerating, but he thought again of Duke's warning. Duke had sensed something powerful and dark within Audrey when she gave him back the Crocker Curse, seeing something in her eyes that worried him. Audrey had seemed to be remembering more with each touch, and she had held onto William for a long time with the energy crackling between them before William fell taking Nathan with him. If William was telling the truth and Mara was a psychopath, then he feared for the friends he had left behind in Haven.

It was too late now to head for the thinny, not wanting to risk injury in the dark, so he settled down by the fire with William pressed against him, but he slept fitfully for the rest of that night.

****

Weeks turned to months. Nathan was losing track of both time and the number of thinnies that they moved through as they wandered from one hidden world to another. They had faced a blizzard in one realm, stumbling on together in inadequate clothing and spending a night huddled together around a meager fire, but this one was wet and cold, drenching them both to the skin as they moved through the woodlands towards the next thinny and making Nathan regret he could feel everything once more.

Nathan warned William not to use magic even though they were both miserable, cold, and wet.

"Just think warm thoughts," he stated softly, gaining a tiny yet lustful smile at least.

Nathan wondered if William was thinking of him... or of Mara, hating himself for knowing his own thoughts lingered on William rather than Audrey these days.

He should have been concentrating on his footing as they climbed the steep, slippery rocks on their way to the ridge of a small mountain. His foot slipped before he'd gained a decent handhold, the fragile ledge breaking beneath the grip of his fingers. Momentarily he was in free fall, arms wind-milling as a shocked cry startled from him. For seconds that seemed to stretch into eternity, his gaze locked with William's shocked blue eyes. His body slammed into a rock, bouncing, caught by gravity, and he screamed when he felt bone snap before darkness closed in on him as his head struck rock.

He gained consciousness to the feel of hands pressed against his bare chest, hearing a litany of strange words flowing from just above him. He could feel something inside him - warm and weird - but none of it held meaning. The words were interspersed with gasps of pain, and he looked on in confusion as welts appeared on William's skin, seeing something small slash at William's face and leave the skin hanging in tatters.

The overcast sky was angry and dark, rumbles of thunder followed by flashes of forked lightning, turning day into night. Nathan's upturned face was drenched. William's words were shaky now, blood running in rivulets down gashes on his face and arms, mingled with tears and rain. Another creature screeched as it launched itself at William, claws raking over his shoulders, tearing through clothing to gouge at flesh beneath, and still William chanted, pain-filled eyes latching onto Nathan's and refusing to let go.

The freezing bite of the rain contrasted strongly with the heat suffusing Nathan's body; he cried out as bones snapped back into place and his internal organs mended, feeling the pain in reverse as if time was going backwards. By now William was a bloodied mess of torn skin, his words hoarse and catching on a partially ripped out throat.

As soon as Nathan felt his strength return, he lurched up, slamming his hand over William's ruined lips to still the words. He threw his body over William, aware from the many previous attacks that nothing would strike at him, protecting William as best he could. Frantically glancing around, he spotted a crevice in the rocks that formed a shallow cave and dragged William towards it, shoving him inside before crawling in after him and rolling another stone in place to block the entrance.

It was pitch black inside and the screeching went on for hours.

Exhausted, Nathan eventually fell into a deep sleep with William cradled in his arms in a deep, healing sleep. He awoke to the sound of the stone being rolled away and moved quickly between William and the cave mouth, offering what protection he could, only to see the silhouette of a woman framed in the entrance.

An old-fashioned lamp illuminated the small interior and Nathan watched as a beautiful, dark-haired woman crawled in and settled down on her knees beside William's still-ravaged but slowly healing body. Her dark eyes were full of love and warmth as her small hand stroked William's hair.

"Who are you?" Nathan asked.

"Someone who has been waiting a long time to see again the selfless child within this man's body." She smiled softly. "It's time for William to come home."

Two others were waiting outside, lifting William easily between them as several others formed a circle around them all, keeping the snarling creatures at bay as a thinny opened out of thin air. Nathan followed them through from relentless rain into warm sunshine. Beautiful houses of brick and wood surrounded a cobbled square, reminiscent of photos Nathan had seen of quaint, Old English villages. The people were wearing old-fashioned clothing but it was beautifully made, with intricate lace and embroidery.

"Where are we?"

The woman smiled and beckoned him to follow as they took William into one of the houses and up an exquisitely carved staircase.

"You'll want to clean up," she said, barring Nathan's way before he could follow William into a room at the top of the stairs, indicating down the hallway.

He hated the idea of leaving William even for just a second after so many months watching over him, but he bowed to the necessity. Part of him expected to find just an old-fashioned bowl and a jug of water so he was genuinely surprised when he stepped into a bathroom that could have come out of a modern day magazine. After months of making do with dips in ponds, streams, or rivers, the luxury of a hot shower had him groaning in pleasure even if he couldn't feel the hot water on his skin.

And there was soap too. Real soap, leaving him clean and fresh.

When he came out of the luxurious shower he found a pile of clean, dry clothes waiting for him so he dressed quickly. He gazed at his reflection in the mirror, rubbing his smooth cheeks between his thumb and fingers. It was as if time had stood still for his body despite the months in the other realms.

No one stopped him from entering the room this time, standing aside as he approached the bed where William lay too still and silent in his healing sleep. His slashed and torn clothing had been removed and he was clean, with all the blood washed away. His pale skin was marked with raw-looking scars that Nathan knew would quickly turn to pink lines before disappearing altogether as William healed himself.

Nathan took the empty seat beside the bed and reached for William's lax hand, startling when sparks arced between them until he was holding William's hand gently between both of his.

As he watched over the sleeping man, he wondered when he had become so protective of William, when he had begun to lose his animosity and anger towards the other and find some other emotion welling for him instead; something nameless, or rather some emotion he didn't want to name. He'd stopped thinking about Audrey long ago, too focused on William and on William's touch. These past months had shown him a different side to a man he'd previously considered a psychopath, revealing William's ability to be kind and generous, to be a fun and interesting companion on their long journey.

Over these months Nathan had run the gamut of emotions with William, from rage through to helpless laughter, and then there was his actions barely an hour earlier.

He had already linked the attacks on William to using magic, having seen how even a small amount of magic attracted the creatures. But Nathan had it in his head that these monsters would slash and bite but never kill William even though he had never had any proof of that. All he knew for certain was that they had never before attacked while William was in a healing sleep, but not this last time. 

The strength of the magic needed to extend his healing abilities to Nathan must have drawn energy from nature itself, turning a warm, balmy day into a raging storm. Unable to move due to his injuries and the healing spell paralyzing him, he could only watch in confusion and horror while William was attacked over and over, selflessly putting Nathan's life above his own until Nathan was healed enough to stop him.

Months ago, Nathan would have twisted that around, finding some selfish reason behind William's willingness to endure such a vicious attack for him. Now, he was lost in memories of the many smaller sacrifices they had made for each other over these past months; conjuring up his lost shoe, casting small healing spells on Nathan's numerous cuts while, in return, Nathan watched over William while he healed or slept.

He startled from his thoughts as a small hand landed on his shoulder.

"He will sleep for many hours yet so please come. Eat with me."

Although reluctant to leave, Nathan had a lot of questions needing answers, so he took one final look at William before agreeing. He waited until they were seated at a heavy oak table with thick bowls of stew and chunks of freshly made bread before him before speaking.

"Who are you?"

"Charlotte."

Nathan frowned as his cop instincts took over. William had mentioned a Charlotte as the leader of their people, but this woman looked too young, perhaps only a year or so older than William. After months listening to William describe his people, Nathan knew looks could be deceiving so he went on his gut feeling.

"Mara's mother?"

She seemed genuinely pleased rather than surprised or confused, quickly confirming her identity. "Yes."

She looked at him with a soft but sad smile. "I have waited centuries to see the boy I knew returned to us. He was such a happy child. Generous, selfless; his father's pride and his mother's joy."

"And then both were murdered right in front of him," Nathan stated bluntly, finding a strange need to defend William.

Again she smiled sadly. "His mother named him we1l. William. Resolute protector, and he tried to save his mother that day."

"He told me his version of events." But Nathan was a cop and he knew there was always more than one side to any story. "Tell me yours... Please," he added as an afterthought.

She settled back, a heavy mug cradled in her hand, filled to the brim with black coffee judging by its aroma.

"Time moves differently among our kind. A year can be but a day to us, and a day can be a year." Pain and sorrow filled her dark eyes. "The time you speak of is both living memory and ancient history. The pain is raw in one moment then dulled by the years in the next. Yet it lingers in our hearts. It breaks us, and makes us stronger."

Her words were confusing and yet he almost understood, but he hadn't got his answer yet so he prompted for more.

"What happened?"

"His mother, Jayne, was the youngest of my sisters and she fell in love with a daoine; a human named Sawyer Thorne. She took his name and bore his child, and we lived among his kind for days that were years, and years that were days. The first we heard of Harker's lies was when the Reverend came to Haven and had his men drag her from her home."

She closed her eyes as if reliving the memory.

"For three days they held her, wanting her to denounce her brothers and sisters. For three days she held out while the Reverend Driscoll set up his church in the village, searching among us for unbelievers, and we hoped this would be an end to it. On the fourth day he revealed his true nature as an acolyte of the Witchfinder General. That was when the true torture began. By the end of that first night she had given up several names, human and Fae alike, for Driscoll cared not for facts. These men and women were seized in the night, dragged screaming from their homes. Many were denounced immediately, drowned in the sea by John Glendower to see if they were witches or not, though the end result was the same. Death."

Nathan nodded. In the Glendower curse, all males lost the ability to breathe except in water, forced to live in the sea for each cycle until the Troubles ended with the meteor shower. A fitting punishment for the original Glendower.

"William was so young. So innocent and naive."

Nathan had noticed a slight difference in the way she pronounced William's name, wondering if it was a different dialect or another language altogether, with his name simply sounding so close to the English name of William to be almost indistinguishable.

"He said Estbury killed his father."

"Tyler Estbury was his father's best friend. He could do nothing for Jayne or risk burning with her, but when Sawyer jumped onto the pyre to be with his beloved, Tyler decided he could spare his friend's agony."

It made sense. Estbury could have simply let Thorne burn alive alongside his wife, but he chose to end his friend's life with a musket ball. Nathan thought of what he might have done if he'd been standing in Estbury's shoes that day, and knew he would have done the same for a friend. 

What if it had been William rather than William's mother tied to that stake and he'd been standing in Estbury's place?

His stomach clenched, heart aching momentarily at the very thought of seeing William burn alive. If he had been there he would have shot William and damn the consequences, preferring to face torture and his own death at the stake rather than watch William suffer. Or he would have thrown himself onto the pyre to try to free William. To save him. Just as William's father tried to save his mother, or die with her.

With sickening clarity, Nathan finally named that feeling that had slowly stolen over him during their journey through the other realms. Love. Over the course of those months together he had fallen in love with William Thorne. When Audrey went into the barn his life lost meaning and he barely scraped through each day, but he knew beyond a shadow of doubt that he wouldn't be able to go on at all if he lost William now. The months in the other realms had bound him to William in ways he could no longer comprehend.

But what if William did not feel that same connection to him? What if he could not accept it due to the part Nathan's ancestor had played in his mother's death?

Nathan had to know if Ezekiel Hansen was truly an unfeeling bastard who had deserved his Trouble.

"And Hansen?"

Charlotte had been watching his face this whole time, likely seeing his inner turmoil, for she reach out and touched his hand. No sparks flew between them at the connection.

"Many of the duine were our friends and if they were guilty of anything then it was fear; afraid to stand up against the Reverend and his men. Your ancestor was one among those, who had to choose between Jayne Thorne or his young wife and child. If he stood up for Jayne then Ellyn would have been denounced a witch in her place and burned alive with her newborn child."

"And Caldwell? McShaw, Goodnestone, and McBreen?"

"All except for Caldwell were good people, providing a distraction while I conjured up and opened a portal to save as many of the Fae as I could."

"If that's the case then why haven't you taken away their Troubles?"

She sighed heavily. "Only the one that wielded the Aether can unbind it."

He nodded in understanding, sighing. "And it was William and Mara who gave those troubles."

She nodded. "And we have waited these many years hoping William would find himself again and free those cursed by his hand."

"And Mara?"

Her eyes closed in sorrow as she looked away. "Mara is lost to us."

"Audrey?" he whispered, for even though he was no longer in love with her, she was still an important part of his life; the first to bring him hope with her touch.

"Audrey remains, but Mara is... gone." Her voice broke and Nathan gave a her a moment to recover. She smiled bitterly in remembrance. "She was always the wild one, known as Morgana of the Fae to your people. She was like Audrey as a child. Kind and gentle. But after the loss of her father by command of the duine King, who slaughtered our kind and punished all feats of magic within his kingdom with death, she began playing with the dark rather than the light. She was sent into exile after bringing an end to the King's line, but a mother's bond to her child is strong and I made so many mistakes trying to do what I thought was best for my daughter. I brought her back from exile too soon, so I blame myself for how she found a kindred spirit in William and turned him to her dark path."

It took a moment for her words to sink in. Morgana of the Fae. Could that be the Morgan Le Fay of Arthurian legend? Audrey-Mara looked younger than William so Nathan's belief that she'd been the child in the relationship was suddenly twisted on its head. Yet hadn't William said as much during these past months? Mara was the one who had found the first portal back to Haven, and it was she who had taught him how to use the Aether.

Something Charlotte said came back to him.

_Time moves differently among our kind. A year can be but a day to us, and a day can be a year._

If his understanding was correct then he couldn't take anything at face value. Mara could be a thousand years older than William for all he knew, and William still little more than a child in the eyes of Charlotte's people. His banishment could have been a slightly crueler version of a time-out, like when his own father - Garland Wuornos - had sent him to his room without supper as punishment for getting into a fight at school. It still didn't excuse William's crimes but it made him wonder if Mara's punishment had been harsher than William's after all, for at least William had never lost sight of who he was.

"So those troubled by Mara can never be freed of their curses?"

She placed her mug on the table and leaned in. "William shaped many curses with Mara, and although she is now gone he may be able to work with Audrey to remove or alleviate the curses of many of those Mara troubled."

"May?"

She smiled tightly. "Until he awakens, we cannot be certain our William has returned to us, but his selfless actions to save your life give us hope where none has existed for centuries."

Those selfless actions gave Nathan hope too; hope that William could love him back with the same passion.

****

Nathan was waiting by his bedside when William finally opened his eyes. He looked confused for a moment, likely unused to waking in a room after years in exile seeking shelter in caves and beneath trees. The slashes and bites to his flesh were just fading scars now and Nathan knew they would be gone completely by the following day, but for now they served as a reminder for what William had done for him.

When the blue eyes eventually found his, Nathan saw the fear and confusion in them fade away, and William's lips curled in a smile.

"You're here."

"Where else would I be?" he asked.

Smiling at the shy joy that William couldn't hide from him, Nathan leaned in and kissed him tenderly, gasping at the spark of connection that tingled through his body from his lips all the way to his groin. He wasn't completely sure what it meant but hoped it was a good thing for he'd seen the same sparks between William and Mara. When he pulled back from the kiss, William looked just as stunned yet just as contemplative as him and Nathan fancied he could see William focusing inwards.

"Mara's gone," William stated softly, looking back up at Nathan. "I can no longer feel her calling to me." he blinked rapidly. "It's like a... darkness has lifted."

He reached out a hand to Nathan, captivated by the sparks leaping from his fingertips as he grazed Nathan's cheek, and when he smiled this time, it was slow and lazy, and full of love.

****

**Epilogue:**

From the moment he stepped through the thinny Nathan knew years had passed in Haven rather than an absence of months. Duke came towards him, with distinguishing silver at his temples and a few more lines on his face. He was laughing in happiness when he stepped forward and dragged Nathan into a bear hug, and Nathan hugged him tight in return. Audrey was smiling brightly, unchanged despite the passing years in Haven, and it was clear from her body language that she had found more than simple friendship with Duke during those lost years.

Both of them tensed when William stepped out from the thinny behind him but Nathan raised out a reassuring hand.

"It's all right. William's here to help us put an end to the Troubles, permanently for many of the families here... and without resorting to using the Crocker curse," he added to Duke.

It was a partial lie as some were beyond William's ability to help because they were Mara's troubles. He just hoped Charlotte was right and Audrey still retained enough of Mara's essence to make a difference for those people.

"Trust me," he begged softly and saw Audrey relent.

She reached out a hand to William and, hesitantly, he reached back.

Nathan smiled widely when they connected without a single spark, because it meant William was his, and his alone.

END

 


End file.
